NHL: Sharks' Tomas Hertl brings his goal show to Boston

Saturday

Oct 19, 2013 at 11:44 PMOct 20, 2013 at 1:13 AM

Bud Barth NHL

The San Jose Sharks always get a lot of attention on those rare occasions when they come to Boston.

One reason is their captain, Joe Thornton, the Bruins' former blond bombshell. Another is the fact that San Jose's AHL farm team is located in Worcester, and has sent a school of Sharks swimming westward, including current stars Logan Couture and Joe Pavelski.

But there's a new reason for excitement about San Jose visiting the TD Garden on Thursday night, and his name is Tomas Hertl.

The dynamic 19-year-old rookie from the Czech Republic was leading the NHL with seven goals as of Saturday, and thus is an early favorite for the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie. His play helped the Sharks get off to a 6-0-0 start, a streak that ended Friday night with a 4-3 shootout loss in Dallas. But San Jose's 13 points still lead the strong Pacific Division, where six of the seven teams have winning records.

Hertl, who is still learning English, has created quite a stir with his play. He scored four goals while getting just 11 minutes of ice time in a game against the Rangers on Oct. 8.

The 6-foot-2, 210-pound forward capped his big night by roofing a goal between his legs — you have to see it to believe it — that irritated some people who thought he was hot-dogging. As if there's some sort of restriction on how creative a player should be?

Others think it'll be a candidate for goal of the year. Check it out for yourself on YouTube.

One of the critics was Washington Capitals coach Adam Oates, who made some showboat moves with his passes during his playing days.

"I'm upset," Oates told the Washington Post. "I was just talking to (general manager) George (McPhee) and he said all the kids do that nowadays, which I understand. But would he have done it on his first goal? (If) he hasn't scored yet tonight and he gets a breakaway, is he going to do that on his breakaway? We'll see.

"Don't disrespect the league," Oates added. "I'm sure it was a rookie mistake."

Bruins coach Claude Julien was a voice of reason.

"It was a pretty nice goal," Julien said. "I was just saying this morning that it's pretty unfortunate when there's a good hit in hockey, there seem to be players wanting revenge for a nice, clean hit. When a player scores a nice, pretty goal, the first thing that comes out of people's mouths is, 'Was he hot-dogging it?' It was a nice goal, so let's accept it."

Oates at least conceded that it was an amazing goal.

"Great move, don't get me wrong," the ex-Bruin said. "It's a shootout move or something, and it's great. As long as he doesn't disrespect the league. The league's hard."

Hertl, who has 7-2-9 totals, has been playing on a line with Thornton, who already has eight assists with one goal, and Brent Burns (3-4-7). That line already has 25 points, but Couture (3-6-9), Patrick Marleau (6-3-9) and Tyler Kennedy (1-2-3) aren't far behind.

Hertl became the first Shark to score four goals in a game since Owen Nolan in 1995. He was also the fourth-youngest player in NHL history to accomplish the feat, and the youngest since the Kings' Jimmy Carson did it against Calgary in 1988.

St. John's Prep product Bobby Carpenter did it for the Capitals at age 18 in 1982 against St. Louis. The youngest was Toronto's Jack Hamilton in 1943 at the age of 18 years, 185 days.

Vancouver defenseman Alexander Edler got a three-game suspension for a shoulder hit that knocked Hertl's helmet off on Oct. 11. But San Jose coach Todd McLellan said he doubted the hit — which didn't look that egregious, by the way — had anything to do with Hertl's offensive skills.

"No, not at all. I think Alex Edler was going to play the puck and caught him with the shoulder, and that was it," McLellan said. "I don't think it had anything to do with Tomas Hertl being Tomas Hertl. He's playing on a line that gets attention. ...

"He's had some success early in the season. Again, he's a bright young man. He'll understand he's going to get the attention of the opponent."

Hertl got his big chance when Raffi Torres was lost for three to four months during training camp after ACL surgery. This could be like the Patriots' Tom Brady stepping in for the injured Drew Bledsoe and never giving up the job. Torres, 32, may just fade away, especially with the way Hertl — a good all-around player — continues to improve.

"I think that's what you're going to see with Tomas this year," Thornton said. "Each week he's going to get better and better. Every week he's been here, he's gotten better. It's a good sign."

This will be the Sharks' first visit to Boston since Oct. 22, 2011, a 4-2 Bruins loss.

Horton speaks out

The truth has finally come out. Nathan Horton now admits that he bolted the Bruins for the Columbus Blue Jackets because Boston was late in making an offer to the unrestricted free agent after last season ended.

"All year, nothing happened," Horton told The Boston Globe. "I waited for a long time. It just came down to, at the end, for my family, I wanted a place where my kids could be outside. That's kind of what it came down to."

Horton's agent, Paul Krepelka, negotiated with the Bruins after the season, and the team made an offer it thought was good enough to lure him back. But on June 29, Krepelka told general manager Peter Chiarelli that Horton wasn't interested in returning. Six days later, he signed a seven-year, $37.1 million deal with Columbus.

"You wait until the last minute, you're not going to wait around," Horton said. "But I'm happy with everything the way it turned out."

Coaching symposium

The Bruins are holding a coaching symposium for all USA Hockey-certified coaches from New England at 8 a.m. Saturday at TD Garden. It is presented by CF Medical and Philips Healthcare.

Members of the Bruins' coaching staff will offer their insights on various topics, while Harvard coach Ted Donato and USA Hockey regional manager Roger Grillo also will speak. After the event, coaches are invited to watch the Bruins practice at 10:30 a.m.